'Sad old git' section

[timothystevens]

This is verbatim from the AAJ board, and has been being widely discussed there and elsewhere:

'Yesterday, at Umbria Jazz festival in Perugia, Italy, Keith Jarrett went onstage and, before even sitting down, said these very words:

'”I don’t speak Italian, but I hope that somebody who speaks English tell those assholes to shut off those fucking cameras. Until you don’t do it, music won’t be at its best and you will have spent your money for nothing. I’m speaking to you, you, you, and you, and also you up there. If I see one single flash during the concert, I and Gary and Jack reserve to ourselves the right to stop playing and leave this goddamn city. It’s your privilege to be here, not mine”.

'At the end of the concert, he refused to do an encore because of two (two!) flashlights he saw while the whole audience was honouring him with a standing ovation.'

As Shaggaz might say: discuss.

[oj]

Jazz Fest To Forego Invitation To Jarrett
By Staff
Jul 11, 2007

American jazz pianist Keith Jarrett won't be invited back to the
Umbria Jazz Festival, organizers say, after he insulted the Italian
city when he was heckled.

Jarrett refused to perform an encore because spectators took pictures
after he asked them to stop, then called the festival locale Perugia
a "damn city," Italian news agency ANSA reported Wednesday.

"I can understand everything, even being obsessed about the cameras
but you cannot insult an audience and even an entire city just
because of a few flashes," Carlo Pagnotta, festival artistic
director.

The concert Tuesday began with Jarrett telling the audience not to
take pictures or he and his trio would leave. Organizers said the
public often is asked not to take photos but the request rarely comes
from performers.

Jarrett, 62, started his career playing with jazz greats Art Blakey,
Charles Lloyd and Miles Davis.

"People came here from far away and spent a lot of money to see him
and did not deserve to be treated like that," Pagnotta said. "Of
course, the insults from the audience are to be condemned, too, but
by that time Jarrett had already spoiled the atmosphere." (c) UPI

www.postchronicle.com/news/entertainment/article_21291454.shtml

[aj]

Let me put it this way Tim : as the father of a toddler, have you ever considreed what it must have been like for Keith's parents ?

[ironguts]

They're all idiots.

The retarded audience shouldn't take photo's if requested not to, the better than all Jarrett should take a chill pill and Carlo is a jazz pedophile and should fuck off!

I am of course perfectamundo!!

[timothystevens]

aj said:

Let me put it this way Tim : as the father of a toddler, have you ever considreed what it must have been like for Keith's parents ?

God willing I'll be spared the feeling I'm still the father of a toddler when my boys are 62.

[isaacs]

That's a pretty mild speech from Keith given the provocation. How anyone thinks anyone can be expected to create music with intermittent flashbulbs popping is beyond me. Also, I don't quite get who receives the licence to be a petulant artist. Rock stars always do, they can do far worse than Jarrett's deviation from middle-class manners and well, they're "artists" and "stars". Jazz people love to hear stories of Miles Davis, Mingus etc sticking it up people, it's seen as heroic there. So maybe it's ok if you're Black. He said "This goddam city"?? Ooooooooh! I'm SHOCKED!

[ironguts]

tis true Mark, Jarretts behavior is mild compared to so many, his playing however is not so mild. But, like you say, when do you get your license to be a petulant artist?

I remember one night at the miuc here in Melb, a guy turned up with a fancy camera and was literally inches away from the end of my bell! I had my eyes closed and got a hell of a shock when I opened them. He then went onto the sax and was again standing inches away. I spat it at him and told him to "please move back young man" or words to that effect. He got all upset, what a cunt!

The obsession with cameras now days is bizarre, it's as though every one is worried they'll forget the special moment if they don't have a 2 dimensional image of it on a memory card! Then the whole special moment is fucked up because they're taking a photo and not enjoying it anyhow. The world is a weird place.

[isaacs]

Manly Jazz Festival circa 1993. ABC cameraman no less decides to come on stage, and to get a close-up of my hands positions his camera such that it physically blocks my access to the lower register of the keyboard. Was I polite? Nope.

[isaacs]

Another one. 2005 music festival in Romania. I'm playing solo piano in a hall, and it's being filmed for TV. Cameraman again comes right onto the stage. It's bad enough that happening in a band situation but at least you feel insulated in outnumbering the intruder and the sheer density of sound is armour of a kind. But a solo performance where the footsteps can be louder than passages in the music? I did my best to deal with seeing this guy wandering around a few metres from me, but when he started tripping over things - bang, crash - I stopped playing and told him to get the hell off stage. I guess I'm a toddler too. The TV people were outraged afterwards. "You're not a rock star!" I was told. So again unless you are part of that hallowed artform you put up and shut up apparently even when what you're doing is being dismantled. Yeah right.

[timothystevens]

Oh look we've all had it. I had some bastard on an island in Rome with members of his film crew hovering around apparently to catch the shocked surprise in my eyes when I opened them; one evening at Bennetts Lane I was playing a solo set and some idiot was sketching at the very edge of the stage as I endeavoured to play 'Generating.' Maybe I need to work on rhythmic superimposition but the pencil brushing back and forth was absolutely no help at all. Still, why punish the crowd for the idiocy of the few? Perugia is a splendid town and if Keith Jarrett feels he can bag it for a couple of flashbulbs I think that's disgusting. He probably only spent half a day there anyway, between his exclusive dinner and his limo back to the airport so he didn't have to change beds, so he may not have seen that much of it. I'd abhor this behaviour in rock stars too, if I ever bothered to think about it, because it sucks.

Bremen/Lausanne (1973): 'There is not a note I would edit out because then I would be editing out much of the audience too.'

The Carnegie Hall Concert (2005): Twenty minutes of audience applause alternating with instrumental performance. Conversation between audience members and Jarrett.

You want live performance? You get an audience. Wake up to yourself, man. If we have to endure a Melody at night with you then you should be able to stick a couple of flashbulbs.

[timothystevens]

Here's the thing. He won't kiss ass, but everyone else has to. Specifically: his.

In 2001 I saw a Jarrett trio performance in Perugia that I won't forget. But a funny moment occurred when he had just said 'No. Fucking. Photography.' and run through a list of words meaning 'none,' in several languages. As Jarrett paused, looking archly at the audience, someone went ahead and captured the moment. To his credit, he didn't say anything more on the subject.

[aj]

timothystevens said:

Here's the thing. He won't kiss ass, but everyone else has to. Specifically: his.

In 2001 I saw a Jarrett trio performance in Perugia that I won't forget. But a funny moment occurred when he had just said 'No. Fucking. Photography.' and run through a list of words meaning 'none,' in several languages. As Jarrett paused, looking archly at the audience, someone went ahead and captured the moment. To his credit, he didn't say anything more on the subject.

Thatw as the moment when I couldn't resist asking 'Or what ? No more Mr Nice guy ?'

[aka]

I like The Melody at Night and You...my son was born to that cd...
if Keith wants to tell the audience not to use flashes why shouldn't he?

Would you expect a classical artist to accept it?

Carlo has lost sight of the integrity of his festival anyway.

[mim]

You can tell an audience not to use flashes without saying "I hope that somebody who speaks English tell those assholes to shut off those fucking cameras," at least the first time.

[aka]

The birth did take place in a hotel lobby so maybe that's why I liked it so much...